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Hi all, trying to write a quick check in because I'm going out of town in the morning and I know it won't get posted if i don't!

This week I finished:

The Stonewall Reader- this was a good history, the NYPL did a pretty good job at pulling from diverse sources for their recollections of the times before/during/after stonewall.

Fourth Wing - I'd done the audio book because it was available from the library and I'd heard tons of people talking about it. I'm usually a little dubious about super buzzy books, but once I saw there were dragon riders I had to give it a shot. I liked it a lot. Fair warning, there is much more spice than your average fantasy, for those who aren't into that.

Currently reading:

We Are Legion (We Are Bob) - re read so I can read the sequel and finish up my TBR challenge!

Ninth House - decided to finally give this a shot, on audio. I don't seem to love Bardugo as much as some people do. I liked the six of crows books but i didn't LOVE them and didn't really feel compelled to go reading a bunch more by her. But I saw this recommended in the book nerds facebook group so figured I'd give a shot. Pretty good, although she's stilll not probably making my "favorite author" list.

QOTW:

I'll borrow from Pop Sugar this week. What makes you stop reading an author? Do you give an author multiple chances?

It depends for me. Sometimes I just really dislike the writing style enough that I just dont' really feel like dealing with it ever again, so they might only get one shot. If it's a book that I found kind of meh, but another book of theirs sounds like the plot is more interesting, I might still give them another shot. Others it's not so much that I refuse to read them again as I didn't feel compelled to read more but maybe would if something of theirs ever caught my eye. Others I either grew as a person/changed tastes/they changed and I stopped reading them over time. Piers Anthony and Laurel K Hamilton fall into that category for sure.

Happy Friday! I have a few days off from work, until Monday, so enjoying a little break.

Finished:
Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire - 4 stars - for Popsugar's book I read more than 10 years ago. I'm glad I reread, because I'd forgotten a lot about this series. I'm hoping to continue catching up after I'm done with challenge reads.

Comics & manga:
Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 39
Persona 5, Vol. 7
The Ancient Magus' Bride, Vol. 17
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 26
Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan Vol. 8
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Vol. 10
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Vol. 11
Rainbow Days, Vol. 5
How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 9

Currently reading:
The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling - for Popsugar's book with a pet character. I just wanted something quick and light while I'm in vacation-prep mode, and this fits the bill.

Upcoming/Planned:
The Brass Queen - for Popsugar's "bought secondhand" prompt, but I'm twisting it to "borrowed from the library" so I'm still reading a secondhand book, just not buying it. And since it happens to be the group read, hopefully I can chime in on the threads. :)

QOTW:
Things that will make me stop reading an author, or never pick their books up in the first place:
- The big one is if I don't like their writing style, treatment of characters, or storytelling
- If I don't like things the author personally has said or done, or causes they support (looking at you, Orson Scott Card)
- If the author has behaved badly in non-author spaces (i.e. harassing reviewers for negative reviews on GR)

In general, unless there's something I know I really don't like about the author or their work, I usually give an author two or three strikes before they're out for good, especially if I have liked their work in the past.

No vacation for me this week, but at least the earlier-forecast 100-degree day did not materialize.

The Ordinary Princess - A camp counselor read this over several evenings to my cabin, but I'm not sure she finished it. I was recently reminded of it somewhere and found that I could get it from the state's kids' ebook library. There was a foreword in which the author said she wrote it "many moons ago" when she realized all the fairy tales she read as a child had beautiful blond, blue-eyed princesses, but it was published in 1980, which puts it smack between Robin McKinley's Beauty and The Blue Sword, and 5 years before Wrede sort of started the Enchanted Forest Chronicles (with the chronologically last book, Dealing with Dragons not following until 1990), so I can't say how fresh the trope was then, but it doesn't feel too groundbreaking now. This did seem to be pitched a little younger than the others I mentioned, and I do remember feeling smug as a nine-ish-year-old when I realized the nice young man (view spoiler)[had to be the king (hide spoiler)]. Maybe a good read-aloud for the Disney-princess-aged set.

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab - This is an early (pre-Holmes) mystery set in Australia. Plot-wise it was fine if sometimes melodramatic, and the writing was generally all right and occasionally lovely, but it was entirely too long, mostly because of all the literary references and quotes. The narrator and characters quote the Bible, Ovid, Shakespeare, George Eliot, Goethe, various people I have never heard of because I am apparently a philistine... Also in the ebook edition I had, "foreign" words seemed to be capitalized, which would be OK except they applied it to ALIBI, and since a whole section revolved around one character's ALIBI and his refusal to tell anyone what the ALIBI was, I just felt like I was being shouted at a lot.

QOTW: I don't read a lot of series, so I won't necessarily read more than one book by an author anyway. I'd have to say the most common reason I stop reading an author is that other authors exist.

It was a very busy second week of our family visit, and now I'm back home. I did manage one finish, Daughter of Smoke & Bone, which I've been meaning to read for ages and was just as good as I'd anticipated. I used it for the mismatched lovers prompt. I've just downloaded book two from the library so that's probably next.

On our drive home we listened to the audiobook of Anne of the Island - the Anne books have somehow become our road trip staples after we listened to the first one last year and the kids loved it. Spouse never read them either, so I've loved introducing them to my family! Anne of Windy Poplars will have to wait until the next road trip (I own the whole series and have read them a million times, but when I suggested that we could continue as a family read-aloud the kids said they liked the idea of saving them for road trips).

QotW: Hmm. I don't have any real hard-and-fast rules... If I'm not enjoying a book, for any reason, I'll just stop, and will probably be reluctant to pick up others by that author.

Life is about to calm down some for me. On Thursday I start a two month (paid!!) sabbatical from work and don't return until Nov 6! My company allows this for people with > 10 years. This will be the longest I've ever been off work other than maternity leaves (last century). So more reading time, hurray!

In the last two weeks, I finished The Carousel which was a paperback for easy vacation travel. It was fine and served its purpose for vacation.

I DNF'ed Egg Drop Dead. It was another paperback from vacation and the last one I started. It was due back at the library and I just didn't care enough to renew and just sent it back. It wasn't bad, just not great either.

Right now I'm a bit more than halfway listening to Lady Tan's Circle of Women. This is for my neighborhood book club in September. It is very enjoyable so far and will definitely prompt a lot of discussion about so many things. I cannot help but get heebie jeebies about foot binding, especially as I'm walking while listening.

I'm also going through The Glucose Goddess Method: The 4-Week Guide to Cutting Cravings, Getting Your Energy Back, and Feeling Amazing. This is a follow on from her other book I read a while back. This one contains lots of simple ideas and recipes for what she suggests. As pre-diabetic I am trying to "flatten the curve" on blood glucose levels after meals and her "hacks" are science backed and not radical (like go on a 10-15 minute walk after meals so your muscles consume glucose).

I also started The Brass Queen finally. This is my first steampunk style novel. It isn't sci-fi nor fantasy and I'm wrapping my head around that.

QOTW:
Let to my own if I really don't like an author's work I will likely avoid them (looking at you Kristin Hannah). I would acquiesce if, say, a book club chose another work by an author I dislike. But there are too many books on (or off) my TBR that I don't need to spend time with second chances.